A liquid crystal (LC) lens is an optic assembly which focuses or diverges light utilizing a birefringent characteristic of LC molecules and a characteristic of changing arrangement of the LC molecules with electric-field distribution. The LC lens can change aligning directions of the LC molecules via changing an operating voltage, so as to achieve an effect of changing focus. Such an LC lens operably has a gradient refractive index, and has been widely used in three-dimensional (3D) image display as a 2D/3D switching device.
A traditional LC lens gives rise to disclination lines of the LC distribution over the slit electrodes of the LC lens, which results in the LC refractive index distribution departing from the ideal lens curvature. Particularly, for oblique incidence of light, the traditional LC lens loses the parabolic profile of the refractive index. Additionally, the disclination lines of the LC distribution also cause the LC refractive index distribution to be discontinuous.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.